Jāņi - Summer Solstice

The most popular traditional festivities celebrated in Latvia are Līgo evening (23rd June) and Jāņu day (St.Johnday 24th June).

One should not sleep on Jāņu night or else one will not sleep all summer – the shortest night of the summer is spent in Latvia by the bonfires singing. Traditional food during Jāņi is a special type of cheese with caraway seeds, made out of curd, and the traditional drink is beer. Many people make the cheese of Jāņi themselves.